Limestone Generating Station

Limestone Electric Generating Station is a coal-fired power station owned and operated by NRG Energy near Jewett, Texas.

Plant Data

 * Owner: Texas Genco II
 * Parent Company: NRG Energy
 * Plant Nameplate Capacity: 1,706 MW
 * Units and In-Service Dates: 893 (1985), 813 MW (1986)
 * Location: FM 39 at FM 80, Jewett, TX 75846
 * GPS Coordinates: 31.418889, -96.256389
 * Coal Consumption:
 * Coal Source:
 * Number of Employees:

Emissions Data

 * 2006 CO2 Emissions: 13,055,769 tons
 * 2006 SO2 Emissions: 15,917 tons
 * 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
 * 2006 NOx Emissions: 12,234 tons
 * 2005 Mercury Emissions: 1,089 lb.

Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Limestone Station
In 2010, Abt Associates issued a study commissioned by the Clean Air Task Force, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, quantifying the deaths and other health effects attributable to fine particle pollution from coal-fired power plants. Fine particle pollution consists of a complex mixture of soot, heavy metals, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. Among these particles, the most dangerous are those less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which are so tiny that they can evade the lung's natural defenses, enter the bloodstream, and be transported to vital organs. Impacts are especially severe among the elderly, children, and those with respiratory disease. The study found that over 13,000 deaths and tens of thousands of cases of chronic bronchitis, acute bronchitis, asthma, congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, dysrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, chronic lung disease, and pneumonia each year are attributable to fine particle pollution from U.S. coal plant emissions. These deaths and illnesses are major examples of coal's external costs, i.e. uncompensated harms inflicted upon the public at large. Low-income and minority populations are disproportionately impacted as well, due to the tendency of companies to avoid locating power plants upwind of affluent communities. To monetize the health impact of fine particle pollution from each coal plant, Abt assigned a value of $7,300,000 to each 2010 mortality, based on a range of government and private studies. Valuations of illnesses ranged from $52 for an asthma episode to $440,000 for a case of chronic bronchitis.

Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Limestone Station
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011

Limestone fifth in mercury emissions for 2009
The 2011 Environmental Defense Fund report, "Mercury Alert: Cleaning up Coal Plants for Healthier Lives" found that 25 plants alone are responsible for nearly a third of all mercury emissions in the power sector, while providing only eight percent of U.S. electricity. The findings are based on 2009 U.S. Department of Energy data. The plant with the fifth highest mercury emissions was Limestone Generating Station, releasing 1,077 lbs in 2009.

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * Existing U.S. Coal Plants
 * Texas and coal
 * NRG Energy
 * United States and coal
 * Global warming
 * Coal